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Dr. Glennie, Craig

UH civil and environmental engineering Professor Craig Glennie assisted in a new U.S. Geological Survey-led study that finds deformation below the Earth’s surface caused by earthquakes is expressed much differently than displacement at the surface.

It actually does take a rocket scientist to be a rocket scientist. Case in point: Professor of physics and electrical engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering Edgar Bering, whose business card really does say he’s a rocket scientist – and for good reason. He’s been working with NASA on sending things airborne for decades.

After a powerful 7.8 earthquake shook the nation of Nepal last Saturday, many media outlets around the world are asking whether anything could have been done to save some of the nearly 4,000 lives who were lost because of the quake.

Smartphones and other personal electronic devices could, in regions where they are in widespread use, function as early warning systems for large earthquakes, according to newly reported research. This technology could serve regions of the world that cannot afford higher quality but more expensive conventional earthquake early warning systems.

Computers and other technologies have vastly increased our ability to collect data on just about anything you can imagine. However, one major drawback to this is our inability to keep up with the amount of data being produced by these technologies. In many cases, the vast amounts of data being collected are going unused – that is, until more sophisticated software or other data-mining tools can be developed to decipher, apply and use this data in meaningful ways.

Damage to natural gas pipelines is both dangerous and expensive to repair. Much of it is also entirely avoidable.

Excavators cause about 30 percent of pipeline damage incidents. In most of these events, the team working the excavator hadn’t bothered to find out if a natural gas pipeline is nearby before digging, even though there’s a national hotline set up to provide this information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One of the biggest challenges following a natural disaster is simply getting help to where it’s needed. After an event like a hurricane or earthquake, debris and standing water can block roadways, making it nearly impossible for rescue crews to know which paths will lead them to people in need.

Space stations and offshore oil rigs don’t have a lot in common, other than Wei-Chuan Shih.

Shih, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering with the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, has won two grants in recent weeks: one to develop an environmental monitoring system for space missions, the other to devise an oil leak detection tool for unmanned offshore rigs.

Cullen College of Engineering undergraduates showcased their semester-long research in poster presentations at the inaugural UH Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 12, held at the university’s Rockwell Pavilion. Students represented mentored work in biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering programs.